Newspaper published by the Chugoku Shimbun from amidst the ruins
Akira Yamamoto, 26, manager of the paperʼs general affairs department

Hiroshima Station, September 2, 1945
Hiroshima…
Hiroshima…
“A young man returned to Hiroshima with his wife and child, after being demobilized
from a naval base in Chiba Prefecture.
Akira Yamamoto (second son of Chugoku Shimbun President Jitsuichi Yamamoto)“Please wait here a while. Iʼm going to see how theyʼre doing at the newspaper
headquarters.”

“The newspaper building seems so close.”
Chugoku Shimbun headquarters, located in Kaminagarekawa-cho (present-day Ebisucho, in Hiroshimaʼs Naka Ward)“Mr. Yamamoto!”“Mr. Murakami (chief editor)!”(Chief editor―The person with ultimate responsibility for editing the newspaper.
Serving in that position, Tetsuo Murakami was ahead of Mr. Yamamoto in school
when they studied together at Tokyo Imperial University (present-day University ofTokyo)

“Iʼve returned.”“Iʼm glad to see youʼre doing well.”“I take it youʼve all had a hard time since the atomic bombing.”“How is the building inside?”“Well, itʼs horrible…”(Sinking deeply)“Itʼs hard to walk with all the ashes.”“Watch your step.”“Itʼs totally incinerated…”

“This is terrible…”“Itʼll be hard to publish the newspaper at headquarters anytime soon.”“We had managed to disassemble another printing presses ourselves, and on August
2 took it away to the village of Nukushina by horse carriage.”“Recently, weʼve been staying in Nukushina village, trying to get the machines
running.”“Weʼd taken paper and ink there, but that was extremely trying work.)

We made a request of Chugoku Haiden (present-day Chugoku Electric PowerCompany), and a high-voltage electrical line was finally connected here.
(MOO)
Kawate farm, in the village of Nukushina (present day Nukushina, in Higashi Ward),
located in Hiroshimaʼs suburbs
Employees who survived the atomic bombing put together and repaired the printingpress while living in tents.
“Itʼs difficult.”(Twisting tightly)
We tried but the machine didnʼt run the way we expected…
GONG...CLASH…
“Oh, no! It stopped again.”

“Iʼm fed up with this.”“Will we actually be able to print the paper?”“We have to get it done. Well, at least the failed printing paper can be used forbedding.”“Letʼs work hard in memory of our colleagues who died in the A-bombing.”“Readers are probably waiting for the newspaper.”“Even injured employees worked up a sweat.”“Their hard work paid off. It seems as if tomorrow we will be able to put out thenewspaper ourselves.”

“This is a newspaper printed for us by the Asahi Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun, anddelivered from Fukuoka Prefecture.”“When posted on buildings that survived the fires and the train station, the paper isread voraciously by everyone.”(On August 25, the Chugoku Shimbunʼs general affairs and administrative
departments as well as part of the editing department moved into Toyo Kogyo(present-day Mazda Motor), in Fuchu-cho, the area to which the prefectural
government and courthouse had already been relocated.)“In the aftermath of the atomic bombing, our staff writers went around the city andverbally communicated information about relief operations.”“They did such a good job.”“My parents are waiting for me, so Iʼll pay a visit to the lodging where theyʼve been
evacuated.”“Weʼll arrange a truck for you.”President Yamamotoʼs evacuation lodging, in Fuchu-cho“Iʼve returned to Hiroshima after being demobilized.”“Devastated by the loss of my big brother…”“Itʼs great you made it back home.”
Including Toru Yamamoto, the oldest son of President Yamamoto who previously
served as chief of the editorial department and was drafted into the military, theChugoku Shimbun lost many of its employees in the atomic bombing.
Some employees lost parents or children or were bedridden from exposure toradiation.
Holding up against such sorrow, the company put everything it had into resuming
publication of the paper under its own power.

That year on September 3, the Chugoku Shimbun was finally able to publish thenewspaper written and printed by employees who had experienced the atomicbombing.
The paper communicated the voices of people from the A-bombed city of Hiroshima.
It contained articles about the atomic bombing, as well as a classified ads section
carrying notices concerning joint memorial services held by local groups andassociations as well as the reopening of schools.

Employees were reenergized after struggling to restart publication of the paper on
their own.
“Weʼre going to publish a newspaper for a well-informed nation and a rebuilt
Hiroshima.”“Yeah, the Chugoku Shimbun will also be reborn.”
The Chugoku Shimbun aimed to rebuild by recruiting new employees and hiring family
members of deceased employees, in addition to retaining employees that hadsurvived the A-bombing.

“It sure has rained a lot recently.”“The rain today is especially heavy.”(Pouring rain)(Rushing water)(Gushing)Itʼs flooding!
Weʼre in trouble now!

“Itʼs a real mess inside the factory…”
On September 17, the Makurazaki Typhoon struck Hiroshima Prefecture. In coastal
areas, earth and rock slides also occurred, with a total of 2,012 people in theprefecture killed or missing from the typhoon.
“Just when we thought we could finally restart printing.”“This might be the end of things for the newspaper.”“Why are these difficulties arising one after the other?”“Letʼs ask the Asahi Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun to print the newspaper once
more for us.”“The issue is how we envision the future of the Chugoku Shimbun.”Should we stay in the village of Nukushina, or return to the ruined headquarters in
Kaminagarekawa-cho?
“Letʼs go back to the headquarters.”“We shouldnʼt stay in a place with no access to good transportation.”“Yes, letʼs go back.”“Okay, now that itʼs decided, letʼs hurry and prepare our return.”“All right!”Letʼs return to the headquarters.
To the headquarters…

(At first, they spent six days cleaning up the offices. On September 30, the day prior
to their return, a memorial service was held on the third floor of the headquarters for
employees killed in the atomic bombing.)“The ashes are gone, so it feels clean now.”“We still canʼt relax, though.”“The hard work remains of transporting the printing press back here.”“Donʼt worry about transporting the printing press.”
After this time, we have outsourced the work involving the printing press, fromdismantling and delivery to reassembly.
Employees at Toyo Kogyo (present-day Mazda Motor) were given the job ofdisassembling and reassembling the printer, and specialists handled its transport.

At headquarters…
On the night of November 4, about a month after they had returned to theheadquarters…
“Printing is finished!”“Wow, itʼs done.”
Newspapers published on November 5 and 6

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, in the cityʼs Naka Ward
Chugoku Shimbun continues to communicate the ideas of those who went before us.
As the A-bombed city newspaper, we are committed to conveying the voices ofpeople in Hiroshima and throughout the world who hope for peace.
The Chugoku Shimbun headquarters today (located in Dohashi-cho, Naka Ward,Hiroshima)